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Working Ranch 101 – Class Two

We weaned calves all last week. I don’t even know what the frig that all entails, but in general terms, it’s the process of separating year-old calves from their mamas, i.e. getting them "off the tit".

We begin very early in the morning in order to avoid working the cattle in the hellish midday heat, which is extremely hard on both man and beast. Marlboro Man has to wake me and shake me and slap me about the face, chest, neck, and head and drag me out of bed by 4:45 am, and I sometimes feel like crying. I wake the kids, dress them, feed them, and endure a meltdown or two as their little bodies adjust to being roused from a deep, dreamy sleep. We all weep and wail and gnash our teeth for awhile, but then we get to climb on our horses and ride out into the pasture and look at this and then all is right with the world:

The cowboys ride out a couple of miles to the back side of this pasture and start gathering the cattle:

The feed truck leads the cattle in the direction we need them to go (the cattle follow it everywhere, expecting abundant morsels of food to drop from its tank, as it does during the winter months) while those on the horses control the herd from the rear and sides: A good feed truck driver can make or break the gathering, but keeping the cattle from escaping and running away is an equally important task for the riders behind the truck. On this particular morning, we combined three pastures of cattle together, which included over 300 mama cows and their calves, and a few very evil-looking bulls who clearly have only one thing on their mind.

Our highly-skilled crew consists of my Marlboro Man, my Pesky Brother-In-Law, Tim, his wife, Missy, five punks ranging in age from three to nine, four cowboys on horseback and one driving the feed truck. Oh, and one former city girl tagging along and taking photos. Here’s the youngest member of the punk crew, riding my favorite horse, L.B.:

Once we approach the pens, we lead them down the fenceline so they have fewer opportunities to escape:

Tim counts each animal as it passes through the gate:

After the cattle are in the pens, we separate the cows and bulls from the calves. Here’s an 1800-pound bull, up close and personal. Don’t look too closely or you may not like what you see:

Then we separate the calves by sex:

And give them immunization shots:

And weigh them on a large set of scales, twenty at a time:

Then the newly-weaned calves are left in the pens for a time in order to acclimate to life without their mothers. And the mama cows are taken back to the pasture to get on with their non-lactational lives:

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Julie

Love the photos! You do always have great photos! My favorites though are the one of Tim and the one of Josh. Oh – heard about the fake snake deal with Tim, you are in the lead with mischief! 🙂 It is so nice to see that everyone helps!

Pamela

hthe sunrise made it worth getting up (for me, too)It all looks kinda romantic. in that western John Wayne movie kinda way.. but thats probably cuz I don’t have to do it.

pixielyn

Just beautiful. *sigh* And then do you have to still make breakfast after all that or did you make breakfast before all that. Sounds so fun. Early. But, fun.

Lawyerish

You have no idea how much this satisfies the jones in me for reading about the pioneer-style life. Once upon a time, I would simply read “Farmer Boy” a thousand times over; but now I have your stories to read and reread and smile over. Plus your amazing photos. You rule.You should charge people to come hang out and work on your ranch for a few days. (Kind of like “City Slickers” – and I am sure all sorts of hilarity would ensue.) I would totally do it, in a heartbeat.(How cute is your little man up on that big ol’ horse?!)

leahpeah

wow. you guys are the REAL thing. i think i knew that when i saw the calf-nut fabric that one time, but wow, those images really bring it home.

Almost Lazarus

Ree’s live is pretty far removed from pioneerin’, in the olden days, she’d have been slaving over a hot stove with the other women-folk, readying a meal for their hungry men.Now she gets to ride along, stay out of the way, and order take out!If they leave the calves on for a year, their must not be much nursing going on. I’m sure that helps the cows dry up easier and lessens the chance for a “sour bag”.Another reason to prefer goats to cows: The boys are a LOT smaller.

CPA Mom

lawyerish is right. I too would totally pay to come and stay with you. I’m really learning a lot about ranching from you, without having to get dirty, or hot or actual manual labor. It’s like reading an cool book about a totally different lifestyle. signed, your number one fan (not like the Misery character at all, not at all…fade to evil cackling).

mom

lawyerish, you’re right! I participated for the first time earlier this week before leaving the ranch…just as in the pics….and would pay to do it again!! Thanks to my son-in-law, MM, for a great experience!

Ree

Julie, the fake snake was a glorious moment. I told his seven-year-old son to stick it under his pillow and it scared him so much, he shrieked.Pamela, it is romantic…but it’s real life, too, just like everywhere else. I think the big city can be romantic. Especially if there’s a Starbucks nearby.Pixielyn, nobody wants to eat breakfast before they leave! I totally lucked out.Lawyerish, come visit anytime. No charge! :)I’d pay to have a big city lawyer to talk to. And I love Farmer Boy, too.LeahPeah, you come visit, too. K? K.Butch, you’ve got it right. I have no doubt that the ol’ Pioneer Women are laughing in their graves at how easy I have it out here: air conditioning, Satellite, washer/dryer, gravel roads…I’m lame. CPA Mom, you come visit, too and we’ll watch Misery together because I’m actually Kathy Bates’ number one fan. “He didn’t get out of the cockadoodie car!!!!!” “Paul, I’m sorry for praddling on so and making you feel all oogie.” Dang, I love that movie.

Thérèse

Wow.Your life is so very different from mine. It is very interesting.I’ll bet you have a really cool accent too! Hee. I mean, Yeehaw! Ahh, I love it.Your pictures are beautiful and that sunrise seems to me that it would be somehow so oddly relaxing, though you were up at 4:45 to appreciate it. There is something about a sunrise that makes you feel like you own the day, all yours, to yourself. At least it does for me.

KimbaLee

I love that pic of your little boy on a horse! I can’t believe how young he is! This would have been HEAVEN for me when I was young, I totally grew up pretending to own several horses, who’s names were something like “Pinky”, “Stardust” and “Ginger”. What a life you lead! I love it!

CrankMama

Amen sister. What a life you describe!! How different than my woeful little suburbia!

Madame M

Wow… cows.The pictures are indeed beautiful, but I just gotta ask: at what age are the calves weaned?

Madame M

Oops. YEAR OLD.My bad *burns red-shame*

M J

4:45?!? I consider that late, rather than early.The sunrise is beautiful but I don’t know if I would be able to appreciate it that early. Stumbling around in a coffee-searching haze, I think I would miss it.

E

SO beautiful! I would pay to come see that next year! Now I want to move… city life just doesn’t seem so great right now…

CPA Mom

Oh, you’ve done it now Ree! I’ll come, meet all my cool blogging friends, and bring the Starbucks with me…if I can figure out how to get it in my CHECKED baggage. ugh.

Neil Darla Sautter

I have to tell you: I was at the website of farm in Idaho yesterday where they offer “working vacations” for people who want to come learn some organic farming techniques (including in the areas of gardening, animals like dairy cows and goats, small-business development, etc.). On the “working vacations” the visitors work hard and do a *lot* in helping them with the normal operations of their organic farm. Cost per visitor? $2,995 for a week!! Looks like you’ve got a great side-income opportunity there, Ree.Darla

Amy Jo

Phew! It looks amazing out there!Also, it took me a few days, but I finally got through reading every single word on this page…so glad I took the time!

swampwitch

Thanks for sharing the beautiful pics along with the “commentary.” My daughter recognized me when I posted the other day.I’ll try to not embarrass her with my comments. You have motivated me to start my own blog.Tell your mom I said hello.You are a talented young lady and I enjoy visiting “Confessions.”

willowtree

There’s a 4:45 in the morning too? Who’d a thought!

Hänni

4:45 … yuck! But ohmygoodness, what an amazing and interesting life you have!

M J

Ree, is every guy on the ranch hunky? Is that required or something?”Hubba Hubba” as Julie would say.

leahpeah

i’ll be right over…..

islaygirl

i know i’m late to this discussion, but i’ve been househunting. and i’m with everyone else, i’ll bring starbucks and a margarita machine.